Great faith

It's been more than a month since our last entry. Could be that Winnipeg knocked the stuffing out of us. Could be that we are run ragged. Could be that we are damn lazy bloggers. So here is the summary. We had a hard time getting people to our show in Winnipeg BYOV and lukewarm reviews. We were disheartened. We thought about pulling out of the tour. It felt like it just wasn't working. We wondered: Is it worth it? Does the show stink? Are we happy? Should we persevere? And we did.

We had a successful and fun stop over in beautiful Saskatoon. Not a lot of theatre goers in that town, but the few are mighty. And people truly enjoyed the show. We enjoyed doing it. Especially enjoyed the incredible generosity of Peter and Carol, our hosts in that town. Intelligent and lovely people. Peter also runs the Off Broadway Arts Centre, our venue, and the green room which was a raucous sanctuary for all the performers. This is the stop where we all get to know each other, relax, play fussball and darts and drink. Spoof night was a big hit. We loved spoofing the fabulous "Die Roten Punkte". Now, we are in Edmonton. My family is amazing. Everyone is so supportive and nurturing and kind. It's good to be home. Especially since we are 4 tickets away from having sold out our entire run. We may be one of the only shows, of 135 here in Edmonton, to have done that. I credit my family, my Mom, Dad, Gayle, Iain and Karen and Ian(from Ottawa) spreading the word. But we are totally shocked at all the sell outs and buzz around the show. We've had amazing reviews, intelligent reviews, full houses and people who get the show. It is set in Edmonton's back yard, after all. Of course the people in this province would be interested and would show up to support us. We'd love to do a province wide tour, including Fort McMurray, if only a producer would set it up. So we are half way through the Edmonton Festival and almost entirely sold out. We've been asked to stay and do a hold over. Which is a lovely honour, though we may have to pass because of our commitment to the Victoria Fringe which Edmonton overlaps with. So what a difference a city makes. I can't believe that with the same show, we tanked in one city and are flourishing in another. Perhaps this is evidence that if you persevere, things might, just might get better and those things you hope will come true actually can. When we were writing the play, I read a Buddhist saying which was, I think "Great Question, Great Courage, Great Faith". We wrote this quote on a piece of paper and hung it on the wall above our desk. I looked at it daily and wondered if keeping focussed on these great things leads you to where you need to go. If faith is enough. Wondered if courage could be confused with crazy. If faith could be confused with obstinance. And now, we are enjoying such success. People are getting the show. The message is getting out. And we seem to be taking people on a journey in our little hour onstage. So maybe those Buddhists have it right. And it is great persistence that is required when what you have is a loving husband, a cat named Whiskers, and the hope that all you labored for maybe, just maybe, can come to something more. And sometimes it does. You just have to dig deep. And keep going. And hold on.